2048: Humanity's Agreement to Live Together

More Praise for 2048

"All great human achievement seems impossible until it happens, and then it was inevitable. 2048 offers us the gift of advanced hindsight. The book provides one vision for how future generations may look back and see just how we met the great challenge of securing human rights in all nations."

— The Honorable Jeffrey L. Bleich, former Special Counsel to the

President of the United States

Kirk Boyd’s vision of a global, binding human rights compact underpinned by a system of courts of law, or an International Court of Human Rights, is not just one of the many possible future scenarios. It is essential if international law is to make the quantum leap from a mere system of laws to a true legal order.

— Cesare Romano, Professor, Loyola Law School, and Assistant

Director, Project on International Courts and Tribunals

There is nothing more fundamental than for humanity to reach an agreement to live together. The European Convention on Human Rights already works for forty-seven countries. Kirk Boyd points the way to a universal approach along similar lines.

— Jurriaan Kamp, publisher, Ode

"It’s time for economic and social rights such as education and health care for women and men in all countries — 2048 shows how we might achieve this goal."

— Joan Blades, cofounder, MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org

"2048 has a grand participatory vision, which will change not only the way we view the world but the way we interact with it and with each other. It is a project that must succeed if we are to have a more decent human future."

— David Krieger, President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

"People working for social change should read 2048. It gives a new perspective on how some of the resources currently channeled toward solving the problems arising from our flawed existing social order might be better repurposed toward restructuring the system that is creating these problems. 2048 shows the way."

— Caroline Avery, President, Durfee Foundation

Human rights are a permanent vocation. Even after the wonderful work of codification by the United Nations and of the regional human rights commissions and courts, reflection goes on because we need better mechanisms of implementation, such as the World Court of Human Rights envisaged by Project 2048. This is a noble task that should reflect the views of all of humanity, including the approaches of the thinkers and lawyers of Central and South America.

— Jose Ayala Lasso, first United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

"It’s heartening to see a global dialogue developing through 2048 that can lead humanity to an agreement to live together. With this inspiring, visionary book, Kirk Boyd not only raises awareness of the unfolding 2048 story, he provides a catalyst for people all over the world to join in the conversation themselves."

— John Esterle, Executive Director, Whitman Institute

Many great, but unenforceable, legal opinions have been written by the committees within the United Nations. It’s time for a project such as 2048 that will build enforceable decisions upon this foundation.

— Alfred de Zayas, legal counsel for the United Nations Human Rights Committee

Harry Truman wanted there to be an International Bill of Rights, and I’m glad to see one coming into existence through the 2048 Project.

— Frank Kelly, author and speechwriter for President Truman

I’m glad to be working through 2048 to equip barristers in all countries with an International Bill of Rights they can use to enforce rights in their courts of law.

— James J. Brosnahan, Trial Lawyer, Morrison & Foerster

Boyd proposes an ambitious new social contract for humanity that could serve as a tipping point for enforcing human rights worldwide.

— Jill Van den Brule, Communications Specialist, Education and

Gender Equality, UNICEF, and international child rights advocate

2048

2048

HUMANITY’S AGREEMENT TO LIVE TOGETHER

J. KIRK BOYD

2048

Copyright © 2010 by J. Kirk Boyd

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First Edition

Hardcover print edition ISBN 978-1-60509-539-4

Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-60509-330-7

PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-60509-331-4

IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-60509-803-6

2010-1

Project management by Michael Bass Associates.

2048 logo design by Carla Radostra.

Cover design by Pemastudio.

Book design and composition by Valerie Brewster, Scribe Typography.

This book is dedicated to my parents — John Boyd, an architect who never saw walls, just possibilities, and taught me to do the same with law, and Betsy Roberts and David Roberts, a teacher and professor who taught me to look at humanity as well as myself.

To the people of the State of California, who, by creating and paying for the University of California system, have given me the opportunity for a rich, fulfilling life. I’m working to give back.

And to the judges sitting in courts at all levels and in all countries who represent much of the best of human character: impartiality, justice, and dedication to the rule of law. Our agreement to live together belongs in your hands to enforce.

CONTENTS

Timeline for the achievement of the 2048 project

INTRODUCTION

Breaking Our Chains

PART ONE How the 2048 Movement Began

CHAPTER 1

Turning Point for Humanity

CHAPTER 2

Challenges and Opportunities

PART TWO What the 2048 Movement Is

CHAPTER 3

Five Freedoms for All

CHAPTER 4

Freedom of Speech

CHAPTER 5

Freedom of Religion

CHAPTER 6

Freedom from Want

CHAPTER 7

Freedom for the Environment

CHAPTER 8

Freedom from Fear

PART THREE Where the 2048 Movement Is Headed

CHAPTER 9

Regional Agreements to Live Together

CHAPTER 10

Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together

CHAPTER 11

The Path Together

CHAPTER 12

Focus Together

CHAPTER 13

Think Together

CHAPTER 14

Write Together

CHAPTER 15

Decide Together

CONCLUSION

Forward Together

Resources

A: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

B: Draft International Convention on Human Rights, January 1, 2010

Notes

Photo Credits

Acknowledgments

Index

2048 Follow-up

About the Author

TIMELINE FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE 2048 PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. breaking chains by linking arms

Breaking Our Chains

The tightest chains that bind us are those that we place upon ourselves. We have bound ourselves with war and poverty by accepting the claims of those who tell us that war and poverty are inevitable, that they are part of human nature.¹ But that’s changing. We are in the midst of a turning point for humanity — a span of 100 years when we are casting off the chains of this narrow-minded view and turning toward peace and prosperity. This turn is not wishful thinking: it is a social movement at a historical time when humanity has an unprecedented opportunity to prevent future wars, eliminate poverty, and create the conditions necessary for a sustainable existence on our planet. These ends can be achieved through a written agreement to live together that is enforceable in the courts of all countries. 2048 is a plan to make this happen.

This movement began with the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a set of fundamental human rights for all people, which was adopted unanimously in 1948 by all countries in the United Nations. (The Universal Declaration is attached as Resource A.) My aim with this book is to tell how this movement can be completed in two steps by the year 2048, the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration: first, by educating all people, including students, in all countries about the human rights they all share through the circulation of this book and other materials; and second, by drafting a document, an International Bill of Rights, which embodies humanity’s agreement to live together and which is enforceable in the courts of all countries.² This document is called an International Convention on Human Rights because a convention is a treaty that can be agreed to by all countries. (The draft of the International Convention on Human Rights is attached as Resource B). Throughout this book the terms International Convention on Human Rights and International Bill of Rights will be used interchangeably.

These two steps, to educate people in all countries while working together to draft an International Convention, are complementary and interrelated. They are good news. The worn-out story that war and poverty are just the way things are so we should keep spending trillions of dollars perpetuating them is giving way to a new story, a new narrative that says peace and prosperity are attainable if we have a plan (which is outlined in this book) and we are willing to challenge those who keep propagating the same old myths.

These may seem like bold claims, and they are, but these changes do not have to happen overnight. 2048 is a gradual process that leads to deep-rooted social change. A gradual process is superior to the limited success of sudden violent revolutions. Often violent revolutions only lead to new equally bad rulers with little long-lasting social improvement.³ Some who are impatient or unable to look beyond their own lifetimes may think planning for enforceable rights by the year 2048 will take too long — but history shows us that truly historic transformations do not happen in leaps, but in turns.⁴ That is why 2048 is worth your time.

As you read through this book there are three things to keep in mind:

First, the 2048 movement has been underway for sixty years and is now coming to fruition. As you will see from the introduction and the first two chapters, we are not starting from scratch. The horrors of World War II were the turning point, and many individuals, nongovernmental organizations, universities, businesses (both for-profit and nonprofit), governments, and philanthropic foundations have collaborated to build this movement.

As a result of this work, there is an effective transnational model to follow that is working today for 47 countries in Europe that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Convention was the next document to follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was created in 1950, and works remarkably well for countries as diverse as Russia, the United Kingdom, Romania, France, Turkey, and the Netherlands. Based on this document, and the European Court of Human Rights that enforces it, European countries now live in greater peace and prosperity than they have in centuries. The success of the European Convention demonstrates to the rest of the world the potential for a new social order based on the rule of law rather than the rule of force. What works for 47 countries in Europe will work for the 192 countries on this planet. Just as the threat of war has been drastically reduced in Europe, it can be reduced internationally.

Second, 2048 includes every single person, village, town, city, state, and nation. It discards the myth that me and we are incompatible. When someone lights their candle from yours, they gain light while taking none. Reaching an agreement to live together makes each of our lives better, while also improving the lives of others throughout our international community. With the encouragement of my publisher, I tell parts of my own story in this book as a back story, but that’s all it is — a back story, and it’s not unique to me. There are many people with similar stories all over the world.

The real story is a collective one; it is about our shared humanity. Despite all the forces pitting us against one another and chalking it up to human nature, the truth is that humanity wants to live as a family and is working to that end. Today there are over one million nonprofits internationally working on social justice issues.⁵ The issue is not whether there is enough energy and funding; it is whether we can direct our energy and money into working on something together.

Does widespread participation in 2048 mean that everyone will be happy all the time without any disagreements? Of course not. Show me a family like that and it’s probably on television, not in real life. But just as families learn to work things out, so can our human family. To this end, Chapters 3 through 8 lay out the essence of humanity’s agreement to live together: Five Freedoms, to which all people are entitled. By recognizing these rights for all people, they are preserved for each of us.

Third, when you read this book and participate in the 2048 process, it will change your life, and the lives of your children and their children. This is not an overstatement. The enforceable International Bill of Rights that is achieved through the 2048 process affects every major decision and every moment of our lives — including what we can say about a corrupt politician to root out dishonesty, whether we can have a medical operation we need, how we can practice religion, and whether there is a place for us and our children at the university — as well as many other things. The reason 2048 provides a genuine direct impact on each of our lives is that the end result of 2048 not only creates our agreement to live together, but puts that agreement into the hands of judges with strong, impartial courts and institutions to ensure that our agreement is enforced. The 2048 plan is grounded in a strong international tradition of entrusting decision making to neutral, respected persons, whether they are tribal mediators or Supreme Court justices.

A strong international judicial structure to enforce humanity’s agreement cannot be achieved without deep and broad thinking. Chapters 9 through 15 lay out a concrete process, supported by the infrastructure of the Internet and the affiliation of many universities, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and philanthropies, for the realization of fundamental human rights on every corner, hillside, plain, and island around the globe. 2048 is a plan.

One of the main reasons I participate in 2048 is that, like so many others, I’m tired of hearing laments from people complaining about circumstances but having no plan to have a significant impact on the scheme of things. 2048 redirects lament into a document that is an enforceable agreement. This agreement is our social contract, an understanding about how we will treat and respect one another as well as an understanding with the representatives of government about how they will govern in exchange for our giving them the power to govern. And if elected officials fail to follow our agreement, they will be forced to do so through court orders issued by judges.

By discarding the propaganda and myths of others — most of whom are becoming wealthy or want to preserve their political power — we can break free from the war, poverty, and environmental ruin we are living with daily by maintaining a flawed international social order. Our international community is ready not just to rattle our chains, but to burst them. Through 2048 we can restructure our society to ensure peace, prosperity and a healthy environment; however, we must have the strength to break the chains that bind us.

Fortunately, the Internet makes it easier for us to break our chains by writing humanity’s agreement to live together. The 2048 Project at the University of California, Berkeley Law School has been organized to facilitate this international collaboration. Berkeley Law is not the leader of the 2048 Project, it is a facilitator. The 2048 Project is an affiliation of universities, human rights centers and institutes, and businesses, both for-profit and nonprofit, which are working together without any hierarchy to further a dialogue about enforceable human rights. The question before us is, can humanity reach an agreement to live together? All participants in 2048 have equal voices in offering answers. We are all in this together.

As discussed in detail in Chapter 14, Write Together, through its website, www.2048.berkeley.edu, the 2048 Project provides the means for everyone to participate in writing this agreement regardless of political party, race, wealth, education, sex, religion, or any other background that may have been used to divide us from one another in the past. Everyone from every nation and from every walk of life is welcome at the 2048 drafting table. The website is designed so that it is easy for people in all countries to comment about what they think should be included within an International Convention. If someone cannot log on to the Internet, then he or she can write a letter to the 2048 Project at the law school and their comments will be posted on the website.

As we think together about what we can do together (other than to lament), please remember that it’s not just a declaration